War of the Worlds/Unto Us a Child Is Born

Unto Us a Child Is Born
Season 1, Episode 18
Airdate	February 20, 1989
Written by	David Braff
Directed by	George Bloomfield
← 1x17 The Meek Shall Inherit	1x19 → The Last Supper
War of the Worlds — Season One

Unto Us a Child Is Born is the eighteenth episode of the first season of War of the Worlds.

Jared Martin (Harrison Blackwood), Lynda Mason Green (Suzanne McCullough), Philip Akin (Norton Drake)

and Richard Chaves (Colonel Ironhorse)

Special Guest Stars: Brent Carver (Jesse), Amber-Lea Weston (Nancy Salvo)

Also Starring: Geoffrey Bowes (Colin), Clark Johnson (Young), Peter Boretski (Howard Hugo), Martha Irving (Peggy), Mark Parr (Alien Mutant #1), Norah Grant (Sgt. Coleman), Deborah Theaker (Saleslady), Albert Schultz (Ken)

Featuring: David Calderisi (Advocate #1), Michael Kramer (Advocate #2), Martin Neufeld (Advocate #3), John Ferguson (Alien Mutant #2), Ken Girotti (Lang), Daniel Kash (Guard), Michele Claire (Nurse), Tim Koetting (Dr. Melish), Heather Clifford (Nurse), Jacqueline McLeod (Blanche), James Mainprize (Bernie), Jonathan Ursini (Alien Toddler), Brandyn Ursini (Alien Toddler)

Plot Overview

When alien operatives are forced to escape detection following a botched chemical attack in a mall, one of them takes over the body of a pregnant woman. The child that is soon born takes some parts with it of the alien that possessed the mother, causing her to act erratically to reunite with it. Even when it grows into a monster, the Blackwood Project must protect the child from the aliens who see it as a source of salvation for them against Earth's bacteria.

Notes

Teaser Quote

"You're saying that we have some kind of a half-breed on our hands here?"
"A monster. Half human, half alien."

Base Three

• Three operatives in charge of testing the biological weapon in the mall.

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• An alien possessed woman giving birth manages to create a child with a perfect blend of human and alien cells.

• Further confirmation that there is cellular activity outside of the alien, as demonstrated by the bond between "mother" and "child". However, this seems dependant of the alien itself, as the alien part of the child dies soon after the possessed mother.

• Aliens appear to have an advanced aging process where they reach maturity in a short time span.

• Despite appearing to be completely clean of alien tissue, the aliens manage to find the child. His fate remains unknown.

Trivia

The Show

• Some of the names being called for over the P.A. system in the hospital scenes are those of the crew: Doctor Wright, Creative Consultant Herbert Wright; Doctor Skiba, Production Coordinator Nan Skiba; and Doctor Murdoch, Production Manager Susan Murdoch.

Behind the Scenes

• The stairwell is a redress of the stairwell seen in "The Walls of Jericho" and "Goliath Is My Name".

• Guest star Peter Boretski is the father of Paul Boretski who guest starred in "To Heal the Leper".

The Script

A copy of the script was discovered. It is the final draft, dated 1/3/89. However, it is a hodgepodge of various revisions between 1/5/89 and 1/11/89. As such, it is almost entirely identical to what made it to screen. However, there are a few notable differences and details to found.

• The teaser quote is different, opting instead to use the doctor triple heartbeat line.

• There are some several scenes that simply read OMIT. It can only be speculated how much significant difference they are.

• One notable absent scene is when the aliens are in the car in the gas station talking about getting back into the hospital. The script has "OMIT" where it should be in the script, but does start with an ambulance pulling up.

• The scene where Suzanne and Harrison discover that the child has grown is longer in the script, starting off with the two speculating about how the hybrid child came to be. After finding him, there is a small inclusion of Suzanne mentioning getting a paediatrician.

• Derriman, only seen in "The Meek Shall Inherit" is actually mentioned to be among the Omega Squad at the hospital. However, his presence does not go beyond this mention.

• The script has the child, still as a human baby, cry out in alienspeak as it begins the next stage of transformation. It also mentions the unfortunate nurse entering the room hearing a strange "tri-tone cooing".

• The baby killing the nurse does not mention the tearing off of her leg.

• The final scene is stated to take place one month later.

Memorable Moments

• The discovery of Ken Salvo's mutilated body.

• The child reaches a monstrous stage of development and makes a nurse its first victim.

Goofs

• When Ken goes to hand the cigars to Colin and Jesse, the shadow of a boom mic is visible on the wall behind them.

• The alien fingers are clearly not in Ken's eye sockets, as there is a visible cutoff on the fingers.

• When the final scene pans up to show Suzanne, Harrison, and Ironhorse talking, we hear Suzanne just as it gets very close to the window, but her mouth is clearly not moving.

Quotes

• Colin: We are not at full strength, Advocate.

Advocate #1: What exactly does that mean?

Colin: One of our comrades escaped into the body of a pregnant human. The human gave birth and is in a weakened condition.

Advocate #2: Why doesn't she get a new body?

Colin: That's the thing; she can't! She's too weak!!

Advocate #3: More importantly, what's become of this offspring?

Colin: It remains in the hospital. Why?

Advocate #3: If this baby is a hybrid life-form, it could be very beneficial to us.

Advocate #1: The secret to its survival might well provide the answers to our own survival in this blighted atmosphere.

Advocate #3: Bring us this child.

Colin: As you command, Advocate.

• Suzanne: What the hell is going on here?

Harrison: I was hoping you... you wouldn't ask me that.

• Harrison: (talking to Norton Drake on the phone) Norton, crank it up, will you? We've got some work to do.

Norton: So what else is new?

Harrison: Well, I need you to access any of Suzanne's research pertaining to the alien growth rate.

Suzanne: Which, I can tell you right now, amounts next to nothing.

Harrison: I want you to calculate its effect on the human rate of physical development.

Norton: OK. You got it.

Suzanne: Good luck.

Norton: Listen, while I've got you both, I've been doing some checking of the police reports in the area and I scored. I came across a report, and I quote, "of a strange doughnut-shaped corpse of the remains of a human being."

Harrison: Is that the residue of an alien body transfer?

Norton: Yeah.

Harrison: Where did they find that?

Norton: Well, that's the interesting thing. Less than a mile from the hospital. In fact, in the same shopping mall where the paramedics picked up Nancy Salvo.

Harrison: So we've got an alien saboteur who, in order to avoid capture, takes over the nearest available body which, unfortunately for her, happens to be Nancy Salvo.

Norton: The very pregnant Nancy Salvo.

Harrison: And this takeover creates so much physiological havoc that it triggers premature labor, and the result is the birth of–

Norton: A monster. Half-human, half-alien.

• Suzanne: You haven't said very much about what happened. No great theories?

Harrison: Actually, I've had several - let's call them "late night musings" none of which stood up to the light of day.